Killshot (New Portway Large Print Books) [Import] [Hardcover]

Elmore Leonard (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Chivers Large print (Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & C; Large Print Ed edition (May 7, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745172644
• ISBN-13: 978-0745172644
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Story of an aging hit man - Leonard style, February 27, 2004

By 

M. Dog (Everywhere and Nowhere) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Killshot (Mass Market Paperback)

The theme of this book is one that Elmore Leonard uses often, and nearly always to great effect - a romantic couple is swept innocently into the world of crime and has to discover heretofore-unknown resources to save themselves.

The reason this works so well for Leonard is that it lets him write to two of his great strengths. First, of course, is the world of criminals and cops. His criminals are always incredibly well drawn and always very distinct and three-dimensional. I have never read it anywhere, but I would guess that Quentin Tarantino must have been a big Leonard fan in his developmental years. His screen killers bear the hallmarks of Leonard characters; i.e. impassioned conversations about everyday things (like the two hit men in Pulp Fiction discussing McDonald's Big Macs) while dwelling in the sub-culture of crime and violence.

The second and less-commented-on strength Leonard has is the ability to portray the tugs and pulls of a male/female relationship with such effortless accuracy. In the interplay of the novel's husband and wife team, the subtle, aggravating, thrilling differences between man and woman are expertly rendered with a few classic, Leonard strokes. Also, Leonard is also the master at local color and authentic detail. His research and detail always has the feel of easy, unforced truth.

But let's face it; crime is what makes Leonard tick - the deal, the scam - and the men and women licking their chops over money and guns. It is certainly all here in this book. Here, it's an extortion scheme combining the efforts of an aging, nearly burned out hit man (Armand Degas) and a clever, hyperactive sociopath (Richie Nix). As always, Leonard develops his characters with subtle, concise power. Nix slowly becomes a truly frightening, dangerous character,

My favorite element of the book is Leonard's portrait of the half Ojibwa, half Canadian hit man, Armand Degas. In a way, the book is his somehow his story. From the beginning, he seems vaguely aware that his end is coming. Leonard's portrayal of this tiring man of violence lends certain poignancy to this character that stays with the reader.

All in all, classic Leonard - meaning a work that will keep you turning pages in effortless joy.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leonard On Target, June 14, 2000

By 

Anthony V Rainone - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killshot (Paperback)

"Killshot" is a fast-paced, edgy and action-filled novel with strong emphasis on character, which is what one expects from Elmore Leonard. Leonard effectively paints telling portraits complete with physical details, emotions and mannerisms, and he never short-changes on plot or suspense. This book hums along. The killers are reprehensible, but Leonard makes them human, with their own particular vulnerabilities. Richie Nix is a sociopath seeing people only as objects to be used or eliminated. The Bird is somewhat more empathetic, but a cold, bloodless professional killer nonetheless. Carmen and Wayne Colson are a married couple who get caught up in a shakedown scam by mistake, and they end up having the two killers on their trail. Leonard does an outstanding job with minor characters as well giving them pivotal roles, especially Donna, the woman who becomes a lover to both killers, and the egotistical deputy sheriff. While the reader might find him or herself rooting more against the evilness of Richie or Bird, rather than for any compelling traits in the Colson's, there is more than enough tension inherent in "Killshot" to make this a very good read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Atmospheric and well-written, March 27, 2006

By 

K. Sozaeva "Obsessive bibliophile" (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Killshot (Mass Market Paperback)

Since I am a fan of the movie adaptations of Elmore Leonard's works ("Jackie Brown," "Be Cool") I've been wanting to start reading his books. This is the first I've read and I was most impressed with his writing style.

I was amused to find him not at all sympathetic toward police or U.S. Marshals, although he did seem to like his FBI character; in fact, if anything, he seemed most sympathetic toward Blackbird, his assassin character. Despite gaping holes in this character, his was the most filled in one in the bunch and by the end you almost found yourself wondering if he could be redeemed.

The Colsons, the couple who find themselves on the run after accidentally being caught in the middle of an attempted protection shake-down by an ex-prisoner, Richie Nix, and Blackbird, are presented initially as the perfect married couple, but as the strain of the chase gets to them, the strains they have kept hidden within their marriage start to come out. Perhaps to a certain degree this book is about how everyone faces the strain of day-to-day living by hiding how they feel? I hesitate to say, as I believe everyone will get something different from this book - however, I feel that there may be a deeper meaning hidden within this story.

I can't wait to go on and read more of Mr. Leonard's books, and accumulate more of them as well - I only have two more at this time, but will be on the lookout for more at my favorite 2nd hand and discount stores (which is generally where I buy my books - otherwise, as many books as I buy, I'd be in severe trouble . . . )